Dallas Zoo issues ‘code blue’ Friday. What do the zoo’s emergency protocols mean?

The Dallas Zoo issued a ‘code blue’ at 10:20 a.m. Friday for a clouded leopard that was unaccounted for when staff checked earlier in the morning.

But what does ‘code blue’ mean?

When animals are found missing from their enclosures, the zoo triggers different safety codes, depending on the situation’s level of concern: a code red and a code blue, said spokeswoman Kari Streiber.

The zoo issues a code blue when non-dangerous animals are found missing from their habitat.

“This is not an animal that would raise a ton of concern from us, in terms of injury,” Streiber said of the leopard, which at 12:40 p.m. was still at large.

The missing clouded leopard, Nova, was introduced to the zoo in September 2021 along with her sister, Luna. They are considered small, but fierce cats, with protruding fangs that can grow more than 2 inches long, and are about the size of a medium-size dog.

In a news conference held Friday, Harrison Edell, the zoo’s executive vice president for animal care and conservation, said Nova weighs about 20 to 25 pounds.

“She does not pose a danger to humans,” Edell said, adding a leopard and a clouded leopard are “dramatically different animals.”

A code red is the next-level emergency protocol the zoo can issue. It indicates when “a dangerous animal is found out of its habitat.”

Zoo officials haven’t issued a code red in many years, she said. A code blue was once issued a few years ago when a bird flew off course during a bird show hosted at the zoo.